Meal Prep: Healthy Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Dishes

I am not generally a vegetarian, but I do recognize its many health benefits.  So when I've been indulging in the unhealthier varieties of foods, I turn to a vegetarian based meal prep plan to help balance everything out and detox my system a bit.  

There are a few different categories of vegetarian disciplines: 1) Lacto-ovo vegetarianism, which is a vegetarian diet that includes eggs and dairy 2) Ovo-vegetarianism, which includes eggs, but no dairy and 3) Lacto-vegetarianism in which dairy is consumed, but not eggs.  This meal prep caters to Lacto-ovo vegetarianism, but even if you eat according to the other categories, stay tuned to That Sexy Dish! because I will post other meal prep plans that accommodate the other vegetarian diets. 

On the Menu

Oatmeal

Tomato Strata Casserole

Ricotta & Beet Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Butternut Squash Risotto

Veggie Flatbreads

Zucchini White Lasagna

Cauliflower Gratin

Veggie Potato Medley

Oatmeal: When it comes to oatmeal, I am pretty particular.  I use only steel cut oats with no additional sugar or flavors added into the base of the oats themselves.  Then I add healthy flavorings such as raw honey, agave nectar or truvia to add some sweetness.  I will also add things like dried cranberries, prunes, dried apricots and raisins.  Finally I will top it off with toasted almond slivers to add a little texture.  I also add a tbsp of coconut oil as I try to consume coconut oil everyday for its health benefits.  I stay way from instant oatmeal packages and many of the packet oatmeal that boasts low sugar or other healthy benefits almost always have the unhealthy, chemical additives (like sucralose) in the ingredients, so if you're wanting to be healthy with oatmeal, shy away from these options.

Tomato Strata Casserole
Most strata recipes call for soaking the casserole overnight before baking, but I've found I

actually prefer to bake it immediately as I prefer the bread to retain some texture and even toast up in the oven (which can't be achieved if allowed to soak all night) over a soggy bread type consistency, but with this recipe if you prefer a more traditional strata, simply do steps 2-11 and refrigerate over night and then proceed to bake.

Ingredients:

3-4 plain whole wheat English muffins, or other preferred sourdough bread

2 ripe, organic tomatoes

1 whole eggs

3 egg whites

1 cups shredded Swiss cheese

4-6 slices provolone cheese, depending on size of slices and baking dish)

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp. dried sweet basil

Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Separate/ cut English muffins so they are a single layer/ piece.
4. Line the bottom of baking dish with English muffins, cutting to size as needed to cover the bottom completely in a single layer (a de facto crust)
5. Thoroughly wash and slice tomatoes.
6. Layer the tomato slices over the bread.
7. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sweet basil seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Layer provolone cheese on top of tomatoes.
9. Take remaining English muffins and cube into 2" pieces and sprinkle on top of provolone cheese layer.
10. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and egg whites, and add in remaining dried sweet basil and milk.
11. Pour egg and milk mixture all over in the baking dish.
12. Sprinkle with remaining Swiss cheese and bake in oven for approximately 45-60 minutes or until cheese becomes bubbly and slightly golden brown.

Click here for my Ricotta & Beet Grilled Cheese Sandwich 

Click here for my Butternut Squash Risotto

Veggie Flatbreads

Four Cheese Broccoli Flatbread - 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 low-carb, wheat tortillas

3/4 cup broccoli, washed and sliced with most of the stems removed (so broccoli lies flat)

1/4 cup Bella mushrooms, washed, stems removed, finely diced

1/4 cup yellow onion, minced

1 and 1/2 cups of shredded Swiss cheese, part/ low-skim mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese blend

4 tbsp. feta cheese crumbles

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

3-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Spray cooking olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Prepare a baking sheet (I lay down tin foil for easier clean up) and spray generously with cooking oil spray.
3. Arrange tortillas on baking sheet so that they lay flat and don't overlap.
4. In a skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbs. olive oil and onions and broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies begin to soften, add mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent. 
5. Season veggies with half of the garlic powder and red pepper flakes.
6. Drizzle tortillas with remaining olive oil. 
7. Generously layer shredded cheese blend evenly between the two tortillas.
8. Spoon out the veggie mixture evenly over the cheese on both tortillas.
9. Add remaining garlic powder and red pepper flakes all over the pizza and sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles.
10. Bake in oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or until cheese is all completely melted and tortilla bottom and edges crisp up.

Apple & Caramelized Onion Flatbread

Ingredients:

2 low-carb, wheat tortillas

1/4 cup onion, minced

1/2 apple, washed and cut in thin slices

3/4 cup low-fat medium/ sharp shredded cheese

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

3-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Prepare a baking sheet (I lay down tin foil for easier clean up) and spray generously with cooking oil spray.
3. Arrange tortillas on baking sheet so that they lay flat and don't overlap.
4. In a skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbs. olive oil and onions and apple slices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions brown and begin to caramelize. 
5. Drizzle tortillas with remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
6. Spoon onions and and apples onto tortillas and spread evenly.
7. Generously layer shredded cheese evenly between the two tortillas.
8. Bake in oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or until cheese is all completely melted and tortilla bottom and edges crisp up.

Zucchini White Lasagna

Ingredients:

6-8 whole wheat lasagna noodles

6 cups water
salt

3-4 small-medium sized zucchini, washed, ends removed and sliced

1 carton Bella mushrooms, washed, stems removed and sliced

1/2 yellow onion, minced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 cup part/ low-skim ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded part/ low-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan-romano cheese
1 egg
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp. sweet basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

olive oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large pot, bring water with some salt in it to a boil and cook lasagna noodles to an al dente consistency.
3. While noodles cook, in a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, onions, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic.
4. Blend veggies together well and as they are about to soften, remove from heat and drain of any excess liquid.
5. Season veggies with sweet basil, oregano garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes. 
6. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, milk and egg and mix well until ingredients are blending well and almost smooth.
7. Prepare baking dish by greasing/ spraying with cooking oil.
8. Layer in noodles first, then spread a layer of cheese mixture over noodles and then a layer of veggie mixture, sprinkle veggie mixture lightly with mozzarella cheese.
9. Repeat this layer process until ingredients are used up (yields approximately 2-3 layers, depending on size of dish). 
10. Use the remaining mozzarella cheese to generously top the lasagna.
11. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and a slight golden brown in places and on the edges. 

Cauliflower Gratin
Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower, base stem removed and chopped into floret pieces
4 cups water
salt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup part/ low-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup low-fat medium-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, blended with mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 415 degrees F.
2. Prepare baking dish by greasing or spraying with cooking oil spray.
3. In a medium pot, over medium heat, cook cauliflower in water and salt just until cauliflower begins to soften.
4. Remove from heat, drain water and place cauliflower into the baking dish and season with garlic powder and (salt and pepper if desired).
5. In a mixing bowl, combine milk, 1/2 cup of each shredded cheese and mustard.
6. Blend well and pour over cauliflower.
7. Top with remaining shredded cheese blend and panko bread crumbs.
8. Bake in oven for approximately 25 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and golden brown.

Veggie Potato Medley

Ingredients:
2 cups green beans (fresh or frozen)
1/2 carton of Bella mushrooms, stems removed
3 Idaho potatoes
4 cups water
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

1. Thoroughly wash potatoes and cut into 1-2" pieces.
2. Boil potatoes in water until softened.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbsp. of olive oil and add in green beans. As green beans soften or defrost, add in mushrooms.
4. Once mushrooms are softening and shrinking, add in potatoes and seasonings and toss ingredients to blend well.
5. Add a final drizzle of olive oil and serve.